Fall Fun

Today we took Drew for some traditional fall festivities--a hayride & pumpkin picking. A friend of mine told me about a place a little over an hour away that has pumpkin picking and an apple orchard, with lots of goodies to buy in addition to the pumpkin picking: http://www.appleannies.com/. So after swim lessons this morning, we headed out.

While Bill waited in line for the hayride tickets, Drew quickly discovered the big metal tubs filled with corn kernels. What fun! He jumped, he dug, he made corn kernel angels. We practically had to drag him away.



Here's a family shot on the hayride to the pumpkin patch. Drew was thrilled to sit near the front where he could see the big wheels of the tractor.


Having arrived at the pumpkin patch, Bill and Drew set out in search of the perfect pumpkin. Drew had told us earlier this week that "I will get a little pumpkin because the big ones are VERY heavy."


We tried to get Drew to pose with a couple pumpkins, but with the sun in his eyes, he wasn't eager to look at the camera.


Daddy and Drew have settled on a pumpkin. Here Bill is trying to remove the pumpkin from the vine without a pair of clippers, which fortunately he was able to do.


After we returned with our pumpkin, we headed for the corn maze, where we thought all that running around would tire Drew right out. He foiled those plans pretty quickly when he requested to ride on Daddy's shoulders instead. Here's a link to an aerial shot of the maze.
http://www.appleannies.com/corn_maze.php We headed to the left which was the easier version, and it was a good thing we didn't decide to challenge ourselves or we might still be there. It took us 20 minutes to get out as it was! Maybe we should have made a few more of the turning decisions than Drew. Oh well. In the picture below we tried to get Drew to shrug his shoulders like he was saying "I don't know which way to go," but outstretched arms was all we could get out of him.


Having emerged from the corn maze, we went to show Drew the very tall flowers. Here Drew tries to show us he can be as big as a sunflower.


Back at the play area, Drew took another few jumps in the metal corn kernel tubs and spent a little time climbing the miniature haystack. Yeah, we found corn kernels and pieces of straw all over the boy!


After sitting on the straw he asked whether he could climb like the other kids, which of course we said yes to. Here Dad gives Drew a little boost.

He's made it to the top.

Not satisfied with sitting at the top, he decided to stand up very tall!


Here's a shot of the pumpkin patch with the mountains in the background.
It was really a beautiful fall day in Arizona, with temperatures in the 70s and sun everywhere. We're going to be in for a rude awakening whenever we have to leave this wonderful weather. Watching the Penn State game today though, they showed aerial shots of the fall foliage, and I must admit I miss that part of living in the Northeast. Hopefully there will still be some colorful leaves when we visit.

We bought some very yummy goodies at the orchard store, including homemade fudge, which is now calling my name from the refridgerator. I won't even pretend I have the willpower to resist it.

One last shot of Drew and the pumpkins.